Which is closer to your own view of what it means to be filled with the Spirit? Is it more of an individual or a corporate experience? How so? (Serendipity Bible 10th Anniversary Edition, page 1003).
I
saw on a T-shirt today a saying that read: “I'm not antisocial, I
just don't like you.” Whether we like it or not, people by nature
are social animals. It becomes impossibly problematic to sort out
exactly where social influence begins and ends. Take any creation or
invention one cares to discuss; its true source is attributable not
only to a lone individual, but to a wide matrix of historical and
contemporary social influences and contributions. For example, we
say that the Bible is God's word. That is true, but even the gospel
was not entirely new. Jesus affirmed (not invented whole cloth) that
we are to love one another—note the saying from Leviticus “Do
not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people,
but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD” (Leviticus
19:18). While each generation is rightfully proud of its creative
contributions to the story of mankind, it must always remain
appreciative of the groundwork prepared (often at great cost) by
others.
The
occasion at which I was most filled with the Spirit (the theater
experience) while certainly personal was nevertheless profoundly
corporate. The preparation for this experience began many years,
even centuries, earlier. God's dealing with mankind historically
made it tenable that he was dealing with me. A context of
understanding always is underlain by the sacrifice and investment of
others. It is in this light that it becomes readily admissible that
whatever unique contribution to the human enterprise we are blessed
to make, its source lies largely—if not completely—outside
ourselves.
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